SAN MATEO (11-02-95) - With the announcement of its WebSystem at this week's Internet World in Boston, Oracle Corp. outlined plans to chip away at the lead of its new competitor -- Netscape Communications Corp.
But Oracle's suite of World Wide Web software, which includes a browser and a server, faces an uphill battle in a crowded sector that is only beginning to be profitable.
Still, Oracle, with its database expertise, is a welcome entrant in this new field, users said. Connecting databases to Web servers normally requires complicated and inefficient common gateway interface (CGI) scripts. Oracle has eliminated CGI programming, closely integrating its Web server with its databases.
"If you use CGI, you have rudimentary [database connectivity] capabilities," said Clark Golestani, director of IT architecture research information systems at Merck and Company Inc., based in Rahway, N.J. "But there's no management environment around it. We're using Oracle to manage everything."
The Oracle WebServer includes a standard Hypertext Transfer Protocol server called Oracle7 Workgroup Server. A different version of the product, Oracle WebServer Option, requires an Oracle7 Enterprise Server. Both products are available for a free trial offer from the company's Home page.
The WebServer, which is priced at US$4,995, will run on Solaris x86, Windows NT, and SCO Unix. The WebServer Option, also priced at $4,995, runs on Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, Pyramid, SCO Unix, and Irix.
Oracle ships its browser in January for free on the Internet.
Oracle will include WYSIWIG Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) editing capabilities in its PowerBrowser. Netscape plans to charge $79 for its integrated browser/HTML editor, Netscape Navigator Gold.
Oracle's PowerBrowser also includes support for Java applets and scripts written in Basic.
Netscape charges a $39 fee for its Navigator browser. Microsoft does not ask a fee for Internet Explorer.
Oracle, in Redwood Shores, Calif., is at http://www.oracle.com.
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